Harris county department of education (hcde) will implement earth to space online, a project to develop an online high school engineering design and problem solving course with free access…

Harris county department of education (hcde) will implement earth to space online, a project to develop an online high school engineering design and problem solving course with free access statewide. Using an eeducation experience, the project's purpose is to attract and retain students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (stem) disciplines, while allowing students to receive a high school science credit. The online course incorporates NASA resources extensively to provide students with in-depth and relevant materials that inspire a lifelong love of science and engineering. Earth to space online is part of a statewide effort of the texas education agency (tea) to expand the development and delivery of high quality online course content, online resources for professional development, academic networking and professional learning communities. Once tea approves the online engineering course, IT will become available through the online epsilen platform, connecting with teachers and students across the state. Using web 2.0 technology, the project will engage students and motivate them to explore NASA-related themes and careers. The online course will consist of 120 lessons that integrate technology, mathematics and science into pre-engineering activities. Students will learn introductory concepts and practices that underlie engineering and technology jobs and explore requirements for engineering careers. The course will incorporate several NASA resources, including the beginners guide to aeronautics and engineering, space place, research tools to design an airplane, hubble space telescope, aqua mission and destination tomorrow. Working with johnson space center consultants, the project will also train teachers to incorporate NASA themes. Teachers will receive training through online sessions, as well as quarterly face-to-face workshops. Project objectives are to: * provide in-depth science education opportunities for 4,000 students in the state of texas * train 200 teachers to teach the online engineering design course * increase the number of female and minority students taking engineering-related courses in high school by 25% * increase the number of female and minority students expressing interest in NASA-related careers by 20% earth to space online cultivates diversity by employing strategies to encourage females and minorities to pursue stem topics. In teacher workshops, staff will invite female and minority NASA engineers and astronauts to share their ideas on ways to persuade underrepresented groups to learn more about science and engineering. Expected results include: 1) students enrolled in the online course, including females and minorities, will report increased interest in science, engineering, math and NASA-related careers, and 2) teachers will report improved skills in teaching science and engineering courses.